Ashley Blom - How to Eat a Lobster: And Other Edible Enigmas Explained

EAT A WHOLE FISH

Does your dinner have a face? Follow these steps and you wont regret it the staring contest. The flavor punch of a whole fish is more than worth it.

YOU WILL NEED

Whole, cooked fish

Knife (ideally a fillet knife, but any small sharp knife will do)

Fork or spoon

STEP 1 If the fish is small, like a sardine, the bones are edible and you can eat it whole. Something like pickled herring can also be eaten whole because the vinegar in which the fish is stored softens the bones. If confronted with a larger fish, proceed to step 2.

STEP 2 With the knife, make a cut just behind the head, parallel to the gills, just deep enough that the knife hits the spine. Make a second cut just in front of the tail, again not all the way through the body, stopping at the spine.

STEP 3 Make a cut parallel to the belly, right below the spine.

STEP 4 Use a knife or fork to gently push the meat off the ribs from the spine down to the belly.

STEP 5 Remove the backbone by lifting the tail and pulling the spine up and off the body. Use the knife to extract any visible bones left in the meat.

STEP 6 You should now have a boneless fillet on your plate. Slice off the head and tail and discard them, or scoop out any meaty bits you find in the head. Serious seafood foodies highly recommend fish cheeks.